#haruxkatara

[comradekatara]

kataru💖

[comradekatara]

i think in general we have a tendency to dismiss early book 1 atla episodes (with a few key exceptions) because it’s clear that the show was still kind of getting its bearings and generally didn’t hit its full stride until book 2. but i think “imprisoned” in particular is really underrated as an episode, and actually does for katara what “the warriors of kyoshi” does for sokka. what i mean by that is, both episodes showcase these characters’ unique capacity for excellence: in sokka’s case, “the warriors of kyoshi” serves as our first real introduction to his scientific approach to synthesizing new information and adjusting his worldview accordingly, his capacity for growth, humility, and open-mindedness; and in katara’s case, “imprisoned” is our first demonstration of katara’s indomitable revolutionary spirit as she fights for justice and to liberate all oppressed peoples wherever she goes, her capacity to inspire others coupled with her righteous anger and unyielding belief in doing what’s right. these are traits that define each character, respectively, and they are first introduced to us through these early episodes. each episode also starts with them making a mistake (sokka misogynistically belittles the kyoshi warriors, katara naively misjudges a situation that results in haru’s arrest) that leads them to then demonstrate their unique ability to rectify it. sokka not only apologizes to the kyoshi warriors, but is then trained by suki in a way that positions him as her equal. katara not only risks her own safety to find haru, but also liberates the entire prison rig in the process.

haru is also positioned as a love interest who complements katara perfectly, much in the same way that suki is to sokka. of course, haru is not katara’s “primary” love interest in the way suki is sokka’s, but they’re both established through very similar frames, and if not for katara’s other, more prominent love interest also being the literal titular character and thus overshadowing haru (the one (mustache-less) episode wonder), i think that people would realize that katara and haru are actually pretty perfect together. (also i need to believe that they kissed offscreen in this episode. jet cannot have been katara’s first kiss that’s just tragic.) i used to be someone who dismissed haru as some boring background mustache boy, and never really paid much attention to this episode because it struggles with that sort of early book 1 forgettability (you all know what i mean), but haru is actually a really well-constructed love interest for katara, and katara just really shines in this episode in general. i mean, she literally infiltrates a labor camp, gives a beautiful, passionate speech about the necessity of resistance, supplies them with weapons, and helps them to drown their captors. so i just think that we should all have more appreciation for “imprisoned.” it’s not remotely the best episode of atla, but if you love katara (and who doesn’t), then you should really consider revisiting it.

[comradekatara]

wait. if haru is katara’s suki (her ek counterpart who is in a similar position, complements and tempers her personality, they first meet in book 1 but don’t have the time to start a real relationship, but then reunite during the western air temple arc and properly get together) does that make…. jet katara’s yue (her “first love” who died in her arms). yue sweetie i am so sorry………

[comradekatara]

and today i bring you, even more kataru

[comradekatara]

putting my money where my mouth is, so here's some kaharu

[comradekatara]

more fancy kataru bc they're fun to draw

[comradekatara]

they're cute

[comradekatara]

Hi! I’ve been working my way thru the modern au tag for a while and I’ve been wondering what haru’s place in the au is. All I’ve seen of him is something about a moped.

wait this is a great question. i actually have a draft of a comic ive never finished (many such cases) that involves him (set in the modern au). i may never actually finish it (because i have SO many drafts you don’t even know), but i will say this: katara dates aang briefly in middle school, it’s the realization of their childhood crushes on each other, they both get bored after the initial high of being together kinda quickly, and realize they’re better as friends; katara dates jet her freshman year of high school, she’s deeply infatuated with him because he’s really tall, has messy hair, and is a purported anarchist, but she quickly realizes that his politics are kinda wack actually, his soundcloud music is very cringe, and also he asked katara if it was true that her brother murdered that girl in their grade who just died??? (by which he meant yue) at which point she dumped him on the spot; haru is katara’s boyfriend in her later years of high school, and he’s very cool and chill and shows up to all her sports games (of which she has multiple a week), goes to protests with her, and gets along with all her friends, but his one flaw is that he’s kind of boring, and also at one point he tries to grow a mustache and it doesn’t look great, so sokka and zuko are always talking shit about him because they maintain that he isn’t good enough for katara. but he is though. he’s a good boyfriend and she likes him a lot and he shaves the mustache like a month later and even reads that book sokka and zuko were making fun of him for never having read (à la recherche du temps perdu). sure, he didn’t understand it, but at least he made an effort! unfortunately he moves across the country after graduation, but he and katara still keep in touch, and maybe one day (in katara’s secret hopes, at least) he’ll move back home and they’ll get back together.

[comradekatara]

just found out on the atla wiki: avatar generations gave haru a lot of depth for himself - the "prison rig" game level has him saying "when the dust settles, then i will build." reason for kataru right there - katara does the same thing after the war

aw, yeah. I mean they clearly have a lot in common as colonized subjects being persecuted for their bending. and it’s clear that haru wants to resist against fn occupation, but doesn’t because he knows that any risk to his safety after what happened to his father would break his mother’s heart. and katara gives him the motivation, inspiration, resources, and trust to mobilize against their oppressors. haru is the first one to earthbend at the prison guards after katara gives them coal, and after their coup is successful he asks katara to come with him. obviously she’s needed elsewhere, and he understands that, but it’s clear how much he cares for her, empathizes with her, is inspired by her, and shares so many of her beliefs and values. they really would make such a perfect couple once you happen to remember the existence of razors

[comradekatara]

haru/katara is a weirdly underrated ship imo. like ignoring the fact that he’s only really in one episode, he really is the perfect synthesis of what people want aang to bring to the table and what people want zuko to bring to the table in a relationship with katara.

like aang, he understands what it’s like to be persecuted by the fire nation, and aids her in her revolutionary praxis. they bond over being targeted for their bending and having their families ripped apart by the war. like zuko, he’s a cool older boy with beautiful flowing hair, who loves his mom, who’s angry but sensitive, etc etc. he thinks she’s the coolest, and is inspired by her courage, compassion, and conviction.

plus, he’s neither the avatar nor the firelord, he’s literally just some guy, so she’ll never feel overshadowed in their relationship, like she’s just some trophy to a man instead of a hero and a legend in her own right. haru can be the handsome little purse dog boy toy she always deserved to have, without any external factors getting in the way. not to mention his parents already love her, which is always a nice bonus.

so.........yeah. pretty crazy how powerful a single bad facial hair choice in your teens can be. let this be a lesson to men everywhere.

[comradekatara]

i've decided that the best ship name for katara/haru is actually kataru bc that does fully represent the energy i am bringing to this ship

[comradekatara]

looking at haru with a mustache again - i know this is just a headcanon, and meant to be taken with a grain of salt, but... he definitely does look like how i imagined hakoda would have looked at that age! if this headcanon has any basis at all in the text (given how much katara loves & respects her dad) - then it would add another layer to the harutara agenda.

i mean..... kinda??? not rly tho.... hakoda's chin is wider and he's stockier, so even if they have similar hair and skin tone, i don't think there's an obvious resemblance tbh.

but also, katara's relationship with her dad is pretty complicated. she does obviously love him, but there's a lot of anger and resentment and grief there too. i don't think she would (consciously or subconsciously) go looking for someone who reminds her of him. i mean, aang is nothing like hakoda for one thing. and in terms of personality, neither is haru. hakoda is a charismatic leader who's great at connecting with people, whereas haru is a lot more introverted and withdrawn, and likes katara specifically for her leadership and ability to inspire others (including him).

if anything, i think katara is a lot like hakoda in many ways, and haru resembles kya more, both physically and psychologically. from the little we know of kya, she cares deeply about the people she loves and is willing to make sacrifices to help them and preserve her culture, which are core tenets of haru's character as established in "imprisoned" (e.g. when he exposes himself as an earthbender to save that old man's life) and again when he joins the invasion.

katara definitely wants and idealizes her mother more than her father anyway, so i think reading haru as reminding her of kya makes more sense for this agenda lol. katara can embody hakoda well enough herself, as an inspiring and compassionate leader and warrior, whereas haru's support when he listens to and empathizes with her talking about the loss of her mother can help her fill a hole that she's desperately missing.

[comradekatara]

we know that haru ends up being katara's purse dog boy toy (or, functionally, lead sled dog) throughout the chief of the swt's teens & twenties, but what do you think happens to our favourite underdog after that? he doesn't even appear in lok - the travesty

ok you know what i was gonna be like "yeah what a travesty that the minor character who functionally only featured in one episode wasn't mentioned again in lok" but then i thought about it and. i would genuinely wanna see haru as an old man. he'd be so good as an old revolutionary who doesn't have time for their centrist bullshit. in my lok rewrite haru is totally a red lotus sympathizer. like he's against killing the avatar for obvious reasons, but he'd totally be pro-killing the earth queen at the very least (she literally kidnapped airbenders and enslaved them in underground labor camps to be used in her army, sound familiar?) seeing as he loved drowning those fire nation prison guards, and she's arguably even worse. frankly katara would be pro-killing-the-earth-queen too, but she doesn't like the red lotus because they pose a threat to korra and that's her baby. anyway haru would've been an awesome old man. maybe he lives in the south pole with katara. i don't like the idea of katara being all alone, so that would be cute i think

[comradekatara]

ngl I think about this insane chart a lot. here is my version, but instead of “type of guy,” it’s “type of leftist”

aang: has his own firm set of ethical principles, and she knows she’s not allowed to disrespect his values, as that would be culturally insensitive. this leads them to an impasse whenever they disagree, which is annoying, because sometimes katara is simply in the mood to Yell.

jet: she thought their politics aligned really well, but then she found out he was that kind of leftist and was like hmmm maybe not. he then accused her of being a liberal, and she screamed at him through tears.

haru: actually shares her views, and when he does disagree with her on rare occasions, just decides to defer to her opinion because he respects and admires her so much. this delights and frustrates her in equal measure.

zuko: since he doesn’t have a firmly set political ideology, but is constantly trying to be a good person, katara sees this as an opportunity to mold zuko into the perfect ideologue. what she does not anticipate is the fact that if zuko does disagree with her, he does not hesitate to make this fact known, loudly. sokka suggests to her that she find a more amenable specimen to train next time.

[comradekatara]

never thought when i first laid eyes upon that wretched moustache that i would someday become a katara/haru truther, but i guess it has since occurred to me that facial hair is relatively easy to get rid of , so here we are

[comradekatara]

katara likes bringing haru as her plus one to events because he is very nice and inoffensive and will carry her bag and uncomfortable shoes for her throughout the evening. at which point zuko goes up to katara like “hey who’s ur hot new boy toy” and katara’s like “uh zuko.... that’s haru..... you guys have met many times....” and zuko’s just like “ha nice try. but no. that’s not possible because haru is ugly and this guy is hot.” and katara’s like “no it is literally the same guy he just shaved his mustache.” and zuko is convinced that she’s messing with him and refuses to believe her. like MAYBE haru has a hot cousin or something but no that can’t possibly be the same guy, zuko refuses to even conceive of a world wherein this fact could be remotely possible. haru eventually (tragically) grows back his mustache a little while later and when zuko sees him again he’s like “wow long time no see it’s been years!!!” and haru’s just like “what are u talking about i saw u a month ago.....”